She's a Republican state representative from Lakeland, a mother of five, and she has introduced a bill for the upcoming legislative session with a radically simple concept: Grading parents of young students.

I think it's a great idea. As the father of a 5-year-old pre-K student, I think parents ought to know if they're performing up to snuff to give their kids the best chance at learning.

The grade would encompass things like getting their children to school on time or at all, making sure their kids are properly rested and fed, making sure kids do their homework, and making sure the parents communicate with teachers and attend teacher conferences.

Parents of those in pre-kindergarten through 3rd grade would get rated "satisfactory," "needs improvement" or "unsatisfactory" on report cards. If the bill (HB255) passes, the parent grading would start in the 2012-13 school year.

Some teacher unions have expressed concerns over the proposal, saying it could lead to combative relations between teachers and parents.

And some parents might say it's a way for mediocre teachers to further deflect blame from their own inadequacies.

But I say let's not be so defensive and let's look at this for what it is: A symbolic attempt to raise awareness that education is a three-pronged stool: teachers, students and parents/caregivers all have responsibilities.

And if student performance is going to start weighing heavily on teacher pay and retention, as some propose, it's only right that parents are assessed on the things they need to do to help with classroom results.

When I sat down with my daughter's pre-K teacher for a conference last fall, I asked what I should be doing at home to give my child a good foundation for learning.

The answers were common sense things: Reading with her every day, encouraging imagination, using new words, having her draw and play outside instead of just watching television or playing video games.

If you're a parent, you should look at getting graded as an opportunity, not a punishment.

If it means you might improve and create a better learning environment for your kids, I don't see how any caring parent could object.

And if you're an uncaring parent, maybe a failing grade will shame you into doing more.

Comments

So, you think it's a good idea to rate parents. OK, so how does a teacher control for working 3 jobs? How does the teacher learn how to be culturally compentent enough to interact with parents from certain South American countires, newly immigranted, whose cultural belief is it is the school's responsibility to educate? How do you control for personality clashes or teachers that loathe parents involvement in their class and want parents just to bobble their head up and down in agreement with whatever the teacher wants, even when it isn't in the best interest of their child?

Who is going to train really young parents why parental involvement is very important?

Perhaps parents would be better served if Stargell required that some of the accountability funds the School Advisory Councils govern be devoted to parent trainings. Perhaps then we could cross cutlural and socio- economic barriers with a common sense approach to parent involvement.

We know that there are a ton of bad parents out there. Parents should be held responsible for their children's failures

It's very simple plan theoretically but like many simple plans opens itself up to a lot of abuse.

I see in the future a whole bunch of new department of education job descriptions for "parental counsellors", "parenting mediators" and a slew of taxpayer paid "studie"s to investigate the best paradigm for grading parents and then the ensuing studies to discover why it all went bad. (Studies usually being performed by a company of whose officer(s) is related to a politician usually the one proposing said bill.)

That sound all well and good, but what about grading the teachers. I think the door should swing both ways. Having two children in PBC schools it has been quite frustrating when you get teachers that won't even respond to the most basic requests for conferences and such. And we have had wonderful teachers that are very good at communication.

No one bothered to ask how you can hold teacher's accountable for their student's performance when it was proposed that their pay scale would be based on their student's FCAT grades. No one asked how you could account for a student who was sick or hadn't gotten a good night's sleep before the test. No one asked how you can account for students that transfer schools several times throughout the year and hadn't been taught for more than a month by the teacher who would be held responsible. And yet, it was asumed that if a student fails the FCAT, they must have had a terrible teacher that deserves to be fired or paid less. Good parenting is crucial to producing good students. Even if the law doesn't pass, I'm glad someone has the sense to raise awareness of that fact.

I understand the feeling that we need to hold parents accountable. This is the problem with high stakes testing. When we base everything on 1 test, we have to spread the blame. We have to set up new laws to make sure we hold everyone to their responsibility. The actual problem though is that none of this really works. Testing should only be for diagnostic purposes. We should never use a test to hold anyone "accountable". The reasons are right here- there are too many factors involved in the success of students on this 1 test (FCAT). To spread the responsibility to all factors is just impossible and ridiculous.

In this instance of spreading the responsibility, Kelli Stargel has thought of the idea to "grade" parents. Sounds good, right? Give parents some feedback and then maybe they'll cooperate and help boost FCAT scores. In reality there are a few problems that maybe Ms. Stargel has not considered. First, this will add another layer of paperwork that teachers must complete. Documentation will need to be kept so that the teacher can cover her/his you know what in case there is any problem with said parent. Principals will have to prepare to counsel angry parents who have been called "unsatisfactory" at their job of parent. Students will have to deal with the shame and embarrassment of their parents being called "unsatisfactory" on their report cards. This can lead to some bullying by other students as in : "Ha ha! Your parents suck!". Some students who are good despite lousy, uninvolved parents may really be hurt. If I was a teacher and I had to grade parents, I would give each and every one of them a "satisfactory" no matter how they were for liability reasons but even more to keep my classroom children from the embarrassment and shame of having their parents called lousy parents. I hope that Ms. Stargel will consider the children before she pursues this legislation.

Aw Mike, I love reading opinions from people who have adorable pre-K and K kids! You guys are still so full of wonder and of the impression that reading to your child every night and giving them orange juice and a kiss for breakfast each morning is all they really need. The only thing I love more is hearing from those same parents after those same kids have finished middle school and reality has hit them square in the face.

Let's all lighten up on the parents and the teachers. We are all doing the best we can here. If there were easy answers there would be no problems.

What is the harm BUT, what is the point? To waste state rep's time debating and creating a bill? All schools having to update forms?

Do we seriously have to tell anyone that they need to be involved in raising their kids? Yes, we have lots of people out there that never should have been allowed to have kids, but how is a parent report card going to change that?

All children need to be educated - even those kids who have a mother with an IQ of 85, who leaves her home at 6:00 am to take the bus to her housekeeping job where she can't accept phone calls. Even the kids whose parents are caring for elderly grandparents, and other kids with disabilities, and who can barely afford to put food on the table.
This bill is a grandstanding stunt aimed at pitting parents and teachers against one another. As it stands now, parents of ESE children are routinely threatened with prosecution when their kids miss school due to medical reasons. Kelly Stargel has no business controlling schools from Tallahassee with merit pay nor does she need to be involved in the precious few hours that parents have with their children in the evening. The audacity. I thought that Republicans were against big government? I don't need a pat on the head to tell me that I am a good mother and neither do most of the parents who are doing their best to get by in this economy. How about funding education, Rep. Stargel?

I am sick and tired of people making excuses for working parents. I grew up in a single parent home in the 1970's and there were very few support systems for single parents. Yet my Mother managed to conference with teachers, volunteered either on her vacations or in the evening, provided breakfast (breakfast was not provided at school in those days), clean clothes, a good night's sleep and helped me with my homework. I qualified for free lunch, so we fit into a low socioeconomic status and yet when I needed a tutor my Mother managed to pay for one. Get over the poor single parent drama, if you can't take care of your kids don't have them.

I agree wholeheartedly with Rep. Stargel. As a past PCSB clinic nurse, a past PTA (elementary)and PTSA(middle school) board member and a mother of 4 boys, I know how important it is that the parents be involved in creating a successful atmosphere in school for their children. For instance, helping with homework and encouraging study, making sure the kids wake up on time, have breakfast and feel good about the way they are dressed. Being involved whenever possible with meetings and conferences. This responsibility should lay deep in the lap of the parent of the child. Teachers should not have to stop class to send kids to the clinic due to no breakfast, no jackets when it is cold, or a plethora of other things that landed kids in my clinic when they should have been in class learning. Parents should want to encourage their children to work hard, focus, and get as much as possible out of the education given to them, but it just doesn't seem to be the case sometimes. I feel that although giving grades to children may seem harsh to some, it is necessary. Otherwise it would promote mediocracy. Parents should have some sort of accountability also. Maybe this bill can be the wake up call some need.

Okay, so much of the outcry about the bill Rep Stargel has put on the table has been about grading the parent. That is not what it is all about, but of course, it's what has been centered on. Grading was just proposed for 3rd grade on down, and of course, there would be extenuating factors understood by the teachers. For instance, ESE kids, kids who have sleep issues, kids ortho appointments? Come on, get the real picture of what Rep. Stargel is trying to propose! That somehow, someway, the parents should be held accountable! DCF is already involved if there are too many absences, but even they have such a hard time getting parents to put forth effort. I don't know what the answer truly is, but since we all know the system isn't effective when parents don't help, we need to darn well figure it out. Kudos to the Rep who threw herself to the proverbial wolves to at least bring the situation to the forefront of discussion! Instead of complaining or scoffing, give some real ideas for solutions..I want to hear them!

While I dob't agree with 'grading' parents. I do understand why this is being pushed. As a father of 2 boys that have been in public education from K to College I have seen many parents that don't become involved in their childrens education. My feelings are that the public education system is better then the prviate system because of all the different programs that are available to ALL students. The difference between public and private education and public education is that most private schools REQUIRE the parents to become involved in their childs education process. This is not true with public education. There must be a better way then to embarass a parent into taking charge of their children. This will create many bad feelings between teachers and parents. The poor feelings already exist. Find a way to make parents be proud instead.

Jill: good for you! I am glad that you had a parent who was determined and loving, and who did a good job raising you. But, does it help to yell at bad parents not to have kids?

Julia, let's get funding for PE, music, and art, and educate the whole child. Let's get rid of high stakes testing that puts the teachers under so much stress. Let's have the schools treat the parents as customers of a service instead of with disdain. Let's have common courtesy, for example, a phone call, when a child is tired, or hungry. Let's not have Tallahassee get involved in local politics. . . .

Thanks for the spirited discussion and all the comments. Will be writing about this for tomorrow's print edition column and got a chance to speak with Rep. Stargel ("I knew this would start a conversation...nothing like this has ever been done), along with Broward School Superintendent Jim Notter ("You already have a place on report cards where teachers can write a note...this would be an uneccessary distraction") and Broward Teachers Union president Pat Santeramo, who was also lukewarm to the idea ("I don't think it would change much").

I agree, but still don't think it would cause much harm, and might give a necessary push to some parents to improve and might at least open the doors to communication, even if it starts off on an angry/defensive note.

Usually I agree with you, Mayo - but this is idiotic. You railed against Rick Scott (rightly so) for his drug-testing of unemployment recipients, yet here is the same bologna. Symbolic, punitive, and totally impractical. Many teachers have over 100 kids through 5 or so classes, and now they're supposed to keep track of the child's nutrition, sleeping habits and responsiveness of the 100 parents as well? C'mon. You said it yourself, if a parent (like yourself) is interested in these things, there are plenty of resources available right now. Good parents will do them, bad parents won't (especially if they're feeling judged).

All parents are NOT smart enough to know what effect their behavior is having. These parental accountability grades give the parent a good hard look in the mirror. If their actions or inactions are counterproductive, they might not like what they see - and that can lead them to a moment of truth which causes them to change their behavior.

A brilliant child with a 150+ IQ may indeed earn straight As even with a grossly dysfunctional parent, and a child with severe learning disabilities may indeed earn straight Fs even with perfect parenting. Student and parent are separate actors, and they must indeed be independently accountable.

These ratings will also be helpful to DCF if they are not presently involved but become involved at some point in the future - they should be able to examine the parental accountability ratings to determine what this parent's history is with respect to the child's education. If it's unsatisfactory, either recently or as a long-term pattern, that provides DCF with important information regarding this family's needs, which will improve the design of DCF's family intervention plan.

There's only one problem with Stargel's bill - it only covers pre-K through third grade. Amend this bill to extend it from pre-K to 12th grade and PASS IT!!!

Then the NEXT two bills should be:

1) Jeanne's excellent idea of parent trainings - PASS IT!!!

2) Start using lottery money to BOOST public education above and beyond the normal funding level (as was originally promised when the lottery was initiated) so that schools can INVEST in new computers, etc. to BOOST their efforts.

Family Central has an excellent program, called "HIPPY," to teach parents of preschoolers how to be parents. Parental involvement in the schools seems like a no-brainer, BUT...What is the purpose of the bill? If the parent in "Unsatisfactory," are they going to remove the child from the home? Will the parent be arrested. Is this just another bright idea that hasn't been thought through? You know, in light of all the pro-Life, (before birth), pols in Tallahassee, are they maybe going to require the sterilization of unsatisfactory parents so that they don't have any more children? Is the grading going to be something that a teacher can use to explain why Johnny & Jane can't read? What will the bill solve?

Teachers have an incredibly difficult job as it is, and in Florida we've also got FCAT to contend with. The last thing teachers need is one more headache, stress, or administrative burden. We have all these half days and teacher work days so that teachers can keep up with paperwork, report cards, conferences, test strategies, grade level meetings, and the all important status updates where everyone finds out whether they've made the grade and will have a meager bonus, or whether they will have even MORE administrative burdens the following year. Working parents have to figure out what to do with their kids on all these half days, which coincide with when report cards are due for a reason, and do kids really learn much in that three hours? Any politican that wants to add to the workload should try teaching for a year. Good teachers are burning out and leaving the field, and new ones are not coming in droves. Would you tell your high school senior to major in Education? Class size requirements, loss of job security, slashing of benefits, the list goes on and on and on and on... teachers, we love you, God bless you, we feel for you, I was once proud to count myself among you, but I can't afford to work beside you.

I have been grading parents for years, but in a different manner - they do it themselves. At my Open House in Sept. I give the parents a report card and ask them to grade themselves as the year progresses. For the one's who do not attend Open House I mail them the report card with an explanation. I follow up the mailing with a phone call a week later. On this report card are the following items: attends Open House, attends parent conferences, attends both math and reading night, reads to their child at least four times a week, looks over their child's homework every night. Each section receives a different amount of points and at the end of the year the parents can total them for their grade. In this manner I am able to get across the idea to the parents that they are important in their child's education. It is a better way than this state Rep is suggesting.

I have been grading parents for years, but in a different manner - they do it themselves. At my Open House in Sept. I give the parents a report card and ask them to grade themselves as the year progresses. For the one's who do not attend Open House I mail them the report card with an explanation. I follow up the mailing with a phone call a week later. On this report card are the following items: attends Open House, attends parent conferences, attends both math and reading night, reads to their child at least four times a week, looks over their child's homework every night. Each section receives a different amount of points and at the end of the year the parents can total them for their grade. In this manner I am able to get across the idea to the parents that they are important in their child's education. It is a better way than this state Rep is suggesting.

So, a parent gets a bad grade. What happens next? Does the parent improve? If so, great. Would they have improved if there had been a teacher's conference where the parent was told how to improve care and education for the child in the home environment? Was a grade necessary. What about the parent who gets a bad grade, and either can't or won't improve. Do we just abandon their child? NO, NO, NO. We need to have good resources for those children who have lousy parents! Teacher who care, after school programs, nutrition programs, mentors, remediation, etc. What is the point in grading parents. Children should not suffer for having irresponsible parents. That is absurd, and anathema to the American Dream. Grading parents is just more bureacratic waste. I would hope every school does have teacher parent conferences.

This would be absolutely awesome in a socialist dictatorship, however it has no place in a proverbial free country.

Quit empowering the fictional "state" over the very real people. Quit making moral laws that have great intentions but then only end up destroying the very thing they were made to protect along with the lives of millions.

QUIT PLAYING GOD and let the people decide what is best for themselves and their children.

In case you all have not noticed there has been one constant increase during the decline of our country. The increase has been in the power, taxes, and debt taken by our government at all levels. Reduce government back to its actual place - mediator of disputes - and this country might be able to recover economically, spiritually, and physically. Continue on the terrible purpose of the last 150 years and this country will fall to the bottom of the international community.

My America is being destroyed by all the do-gooders who think they can come up with just one more law to fix everything. Give it up, there is no magic pill or law to fix things. Life isn't perfect and no matter how many laws you pass and no matter how many fines you collect it won't change one thing for the better, it simply adds one more penalty and one more state authorized tyrannical act to something that will happen any way.

Oh, that's right, wave the banner of "for the children" - a favorite of the right-wing. It isn't about the child if you need a law - it's about proving that government is necessary and that society can't function without dependence on rich people telling us which way to look.

My 5 children all get access to the same resources, yet they all perform differently in their education. Three are A- to B+, one is sitting at a C- for the year, and the other is too young for formalized education. Take a wild guess what each teacher would likely grade me as....it would depend on the student, wouldn't it?

Understand that I could _careless_ what a teacher rated me at. They have no business grading anything other than a child's paper.

How much big brother do you people really want? Did you enjoy worrying about your permanent record so much as a child that you just can't stand the idea of being a sovereign adult who should not bequeath their every last decision to a few elected representatives?

It is obvious to me that most people do not understand what Liberty means. Perhaps you should look it up sometime and see what the soldiers of the American Revolution, Texas Revolution, and the so-called US Civil War were really fighting for - the freedom to decide for themselves. The freedom to be the masters of their own destiny. "Remember the Alamo" was a cry for freedom from tyranny - from other people deciding for you.

With that in mind, some parents simply do not place as much importance on education as others do. At least, that is, not in the sense of formalized education that our country's elite has decided is best for our children. Does that mean they are being bad parents? Perhaps to one person it does - but does their opinion really matter more than another persons opinion? Is their child being given access to education? If the answer is yes, then the law is being met. This nonsense of grade averages determining success for our schools is cheating our children of the true purpose of education - to learn and to be given a chance to excel in what interests them, not in all things. Our nation continues to push for testing as the key to success while we continue to fall behind other countries in motivating people to become doctors, scientists, and industry leaders.

Just perhaps we need to remove the government from our classrooms and let the teachers teach. Remove the high-paid administrators who bring no true benefit to the educational system and get the school budgets to operate on less than what it costs to go to a decent private school per year. Give the teachers raises and cut out the nonsense that has school budgets running over $14,000 per year per student. Remove tenure so that teachers who have lost the desire to teach can be removed without pay.

Until then I will continue to home-school and let my child's grades be their grade. You all can participate in the socialist nonsense with the parent being held responsible for their child's performance.....just like your parent wasn't when you (the current parent) went to school. Finally the child can point to the government and prove that the parent's nurturing (or lack there of) was precisely what made them the person they are today. All hail Dr. Spock!

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About the author

MICHAEL MAYO has been the Sun-Sentinel's Broward news columnist since 2002. He is not a failed sports writer, as some detractors contend, just a lapsed one. He came to South Florida to cover sports in 1989. He now takes aim at everything under the sun. He was born in Brooklyn, went to college in Boston and has also lived in London and Spartanburg, S.C. His hobbies include losing weight (unsuccessfully) and losing golf balls (very successfully).